1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a drum-type washing machine, and more particularly, to a drum-type washing machine equipped with a drying device that dries laundry.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a drying device for a drum-type washing machine evaporates the moisture of laundry by supplying hot air heated by a heater to the inside of a fixed drum and heating the laundry and condensing and discharging the evaporated moisture, thus drying the laundry.
Such a drying device is provided with a discharging duct and a condensing duct. The discharging duct provides hot air to the inside of a fixed drum, and is provided with a heater therein. One end of the discharging duct is connected to the outlet of a blowing fan and the other end of the discharging duct is connected to communicate with the inside of the fixed drum. The condensing duct is used to condense vapor into water and discharge the water to the outside while guiding the vapor formed in the inside of the fixed drum to the blowing fan, and is provided with a condenser. One end of the condensing duct is connected to communicate with the inside of the fixed drum and the other end of the condensing duct is connected to the inlet of the blowing fan.
As shown in FIG. 1, a condensing duct 1 of a conventional drying device extends from an air outlet 3 formed in the lower portion of the back of a fixed drum 2 to an inlet 5 of a blowing fan 4 formed in the upper portion of the back of the fixed drum 2, and is mounted on the back of the fixed drum 2 in an airtight manner. The condensing duct 1 is provided with a condenser that includes a cooling water spray nozzle 6 and a cooling water supply pipe 7. The cooling water spray nozzle 6 is used to spray cooling water inside the condensing duct 1 and is mounted to the upper portion of the inside of the condensing duct 1. The cooling water supply pipe 7 supplies the cooling water to the cooling water spray nozzle 6.
When the blowing fan 4 is operated, wet vapor discharged from the inside of the fixed drum 2 through the air outlet 3 is moved upward along the condensing duct 1 from the suction of the blowing fan 4. The cooling water sprayed into the lower portion of the fixed drum 2 through the cooling water spray nozzle 6 condenses the wet vapor that was moving upward. The condensed vapor then drops down the condensing duct 1 where it is removed.
However, since the cooling water spray nozzle 6 that sprays cooling water is mounted on the upper portion of the inside of the condensing duct 1 in the conventional drying device for the drum-type washing machine, some of the cooling water that is sprayed downward is sucked to the blowing fan 4 together with the ascending air current, thus decreasing the efficiency of drying laundry.